St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-30
ot included in totals,
WHALE CATCHING.
An Old Sea Captain Tells a Globe
Correspondent About 1t.

correspondent About 1t.
Special Correspondence of the Globe.
SOUTHAMPTON, l.. l., May 24.-Old
Capt. PyrrhuS COncer was born in 1914,
being now seventy-twO years of age.
This quaint old town is proud of the old
tar, and he is considered the historian
OF the village and sound in all matters
pertaining to the interesting early his
tory of the place. His life is one of
thrilling adventure as captain of a
whaling vessel, having given his life to
the sea, making three trips around the
globe, his greatest catch being twenty
i've whales after an absence of seven
months and seven days, These whales
yielded him total of 1000 barrels of oil
and an average of whale bone to each
whale OF about 500 pounds, making a
very handsome return, as whale bone
was then worth s. per pound and the
Oil worth about SIS per barrel. These
were the days when whale fishing was
very lucrative employment, but is not
SO now, owing to the use of other oils
that fill the place of whale oil. The old
captain loves to tell his battles DER, SO
made special visit in the
interest of the GLOBE. The cap
turing of a whale even among old
10 luli vi udl lily
Soon DIS whale is seen Off the coast
here spouting, the alarm is given by the
man on the coast to the villagers either
by waving his coat, blowing a horn or
ringing the bell in the little Episcopal
chapel built near the ocean shore. The
news flies swiftly from man to man,
horns are blown, bells rung, and gem
eral rush is made to the ocean. The
man who calls the rally is given a re-
ward of $40 provided they succeed in
capturing the whale. The three boats
are quickly manned, six men to each
boat, and a dash through the surf is
made for the whale, each man bending
his best at the oar in order to first strike
the whale. In order to strike the whale
the bowman must get within fifteen feet
OF the whale and then hurl the harpOOn.
The harpOon is about three feet long,
made OF iron, steel pointed, and at
tached to a pole some seven feet long;
to this pole is fastened rope
240 feet long and about an
inch thick, the water here being
about fifteen fathoms deep, When the
whale is struck by the harpoon he strikes
out for the far deep going towards the
bottom, the line is played out at once,
and the boat clears away speedily from
danger, as the whale may turn and lash
them. Soon as they can tire the whale
he will appear again on the surface to
''spout," then the boats dash up and
throw the lance, steel spoon-shaped
instrument weighing about five pounds.
The lance is thrown so as to strike the
whale in the ''life,'' which is just below
the fin close to the shoulder. When hit
by the lance in this spot the monster
spOutS blood some fifteen feet high,
lasheS the sea and plunges furiously. At
this time the greatest care and nerve
are required by the sailors for misplay
would mean death and destruction in
the flash of an eye. Soon as the whale
dies, which is in about twenty minutes,
hole is cut in his nose and all hands
take hold and strike for the shore.
When near the beach the breakers dash
the whale on the shore, he is theu
fastened by ropes to await the falling
OF the tide. He is then cut up, the
bladder taken out and boiled, the head
severed and the whale bone taken out
and all prepared to ship to market.
The last whale captured here was a
'scalf' and only measured forty feet,
yielding about 1000 pounds of bone and
fifty barrels of oil. Whales have been
secured here siXty-five feet long, yield
ing total of $500; no small sum to
divide among the three crews of six
men each.